I hope Tom Cruise says no. One of the greatests things about the movie Top gun was that there was no sequel. Besides, with the F-14 retired, what plane will they use as the star? There are no cool planes avaliable in the USN or USAF inventory anymore. The F-35 is just too ugly for a movie, it certainly cannot compete with the F-14 here. Perhaps if they use Jackie Stallone as the female Top gun student, the F-35 might not look so bad?

Well, they could always combine the script with the live action Macross movie I hear is in the works and give ol’ Tom a VF-1 Valkyrie…

The French will be sending several Rafales to Red Flag in August, but it might be a bit early for them to transit there. See: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/329687.html

My guess is they’re the first group to cross the pond to cross deck on USS Theodore Roosevelt for exercises this month. See: http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2007/12/french-will-land-off-norfolk-in-2008.html

Kurt

To hear something without outside verification is not enough in that case.

I’ve read it in both “The Buccaneers” by Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork and “Buccaneer” by Tim Laming. About the only ride criticism was that the rush of air past the cockpit was a bit loud.

The problem with the B-1’s external pylons,according to a B-1 crewman I spoke with on the issue of external stores is that in order to comply with the treaty,screws were put into the hole that would be used to attach the external pylons,then sawed off so as they couldn’t be removed(at least not without alot of work).The internal bulkhead in the weapons bay was also made as so not to except internal loading of ALCMs.This would include the conventional AGM-86C model as well.

So,from what I got,yes,they could be reverted to carry external stroes but not without work,and pretty extensive work at that and seeing at how the USAF has been cutting B-1s as a cost cutting measure,I doubt the B-1s will ever make full use of their capabilities.

Really ashame too,taking a great strategic bomber and making it into not much more then a bombtruck.Guess it was more politicaly viable or something like that.

A few years ago I had a Benelli M1S90 shotgun and had the rear sight block shear off before it was ever shot. Benelli wound up sending it to Mag-Na-Port for them to use an EDM system to open holes in the screws so they could be drilled and tapped to be removed.

It just takes the right equipment and isn’t something you’d probably be able to do quickly, but it can be done.

Actually you take a much bigger Mirage III+canards (like on the swiss Mirages), add a second engine, bigger nose to put a big radar in it (the one in the phantom why not), add a second crewmember, 4 under belly hardpoints like on the mirage 2000-5 for BVR missiles (Sparrow? R530?) + 1 belly tank + 2 wing tanks + 4 IR missiles on four outboard wing pylons (Sidewinder or Magic), and you get quite the early supersonic BVR performer!

And potentially a pretty good strike aircraft!

Nic

Wouldn’t this be close to the Mirage IV, but with BVR capability and possibly better visibility for the crew?

I’d like to see what a modified M346 would look like kitted out as a fighter. The Yak-130 appears to be rather respectable, and if you removed the second seat and installed a decent radar, the M346 should be a modern version of the F-5.

IMO, of course.

If you want to bring up FBW airlines and try to compare them to a tactical airlifter (don’t, they aren’t the same) and say that the side stick has worked great for years…well OK, but then again, you are not bringing an A-320 into a 2800 ft dirt strip…where if you over correct or under correct, you and your pallet of beans are dead.

Then again, there is an Airbus A-310 or A-320 that’s providing transport to Antarctica and landing on an ice runway. I would think that’s at least as dangerous as a C-130 landing on a dirt strip.